


A Porcine Emperor's Pride

by Yuni30



Series: Nymph Hugs [15]
Category: Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (Video Game)
Genre: Big Brothers, Brotherhood, Brotherly Bonding, Brothers, Family, Family Bonding, Family Drama, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Father-Son Relationship, Fatherhood, Gen, Protective Older Brothers, Protective Swaine, younger brothers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-26
Updated: 2018-05-26
Packaged: 2019-05-13 21:37:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14756765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yuni30/pseuds/Yuni30
Summary: When two brothers get in trouble they find their father fighting for them, encouraging them.(This work can also be found as a drabble chapter for "Nymph Hugs" over on Fanfiction.net along with its sibling works.)





	A Porcine Emperor's Pride

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Like A Brother](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/383684) by Wherever Girl. 



> Back with another one! This one I _was_ going to do as part of an epilogue but, I decided to scrap it and do a what-if scenario. I won't say what it is yet, but I want you to figure it out.
> 
> In any case, credit goes to [moonbird](https://www.fanfiction.net/u/1576308/) for the idea. Thanks again for the lovely inspiration, you.
> 
> Anyway, on with the show!
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own a pickpocketing gun… That feels like it should be something I should own but just isn't true. I guess you could say the same for the rights for Ni no Kuni! Haha!

"Run! Run, I say," shouted a tall, bear of a teenage boy as he ran from an enraged hyperboar. He made the mistake of looking over the shoulder of his red petticoat. The beast was right behind him. He sharply inhaled clenching the pickpocketing gun he had discovered a couple of weeks ago in his hand. He'd been tinkering with it ever since.

"You don't have to tell me twice," his thinner, scrappier brother called as he ran past him, tossing the stick he had used on the beast to the side. In hindsight, this plan was the worst idea they could have come up with.

It was Svin's idea. All of it. Svin, the master of not thinking things through. The accidental mess maker. It was up to his older brother, Midero, to keep him out of trouble. That turned out differently this time. Despite the older brother's efforts, despite his constant attempts to talk the lighter, curlier haired Svin out of doing something so foolish, the younger prince wouldn't have any of it.

 _"Fine, if you won't help me, I'll just do it myself,"_ he recalled regretfully as he found himself guarding the now cowering fool behind him. _"I'm_ going _to become a guard, Midero. Unlike you, I have no future secured for me,"_ he remembered the stubborn teen telling him just before he exited Hamelin. It was hard to argue with him when he got that way. He even thought of tackling him and holding him down with the brat's own green waist jacket.

He could never do that. He was too gentle for his own good. He was thankful the gun he used didn't do much damage… at first. He worried that he'd hit Svin when he fired at it the first time. To his horror, the creature turned to him, switching its target.

They now found themselves cornered against a steep hillside. Midero shakily held the same gun he had used to distract the beast before up in front of him. He aimed for the space right between its eyes.

"Still think this is the way to become a guard, Svin," the older brother with long dark brown hair chastised. His voice betrayed him- it cracked out of fear.

"Would you just shoot it already," the younger brother snapped. He glared up at him then yelped as he watched the boar stamp the earth with its hoof.

Like that would do any good... thought the older boy. "I can try, but the most it will do is anger it," Midero reasoned, glancing back at Svin who gripped the shoulders of his brother out of fear.

"The damn thing already _is_!" He yelped again when it looked at him. He whimpered as he saw it snort. "Just _do_ something, brother! I don't want to die!"

Some guard you'll turn out to be, Midero thought grudgingly. He huffed through gritted teeth and attempted to steady his aim with his other hand. _Please_ , he began to plead, just work properly…? Just this once…? He pulled the trigger.

The pellet hit the creature right in the center of its head. It wasn't enough- the hide was too thick. The boar stamped the earth quickly and didn't hold back. With a blood-curdling roar, it charged at them.

This is it, they both thought, this is the end. They closed their eyes and prepared for the worst.

Suddenly, a giant yeti-like creature leaped down from the hill surrounding them. On its back was a man wearing a tattered green trench coat. The snowy beast had caught the creature and threw it away from them.

"Another," Svin cried out, looking at the furry creature in front of them. One giant monster was enough, they didn't need two.

"Would you stop being a coward," Midero snapped. "It's embarrassing," he hissed, glaring back at him.

Shots rang out as the man on the creature fired at the boar charging once again at the group. He slid off the papa sasquash when he was sure it had fallen. "Good boy, Squishy," he said as he patted the side of the beast with a fond smile. That soft look he had immediately faded when he looked at the two boys. "You two…," he growled, wagging a finger at them. "Should count yourselves lucky."

Svin squinted at the lanky rogue in front of him. His eyes widened when he recognized him. "F-father," he asked, backing away from the back of his older brother.

Squishy approached Midero and nuzzled his chest affectionately, softly whining. "Who else? Father's the only one around who own's a papa sasquash named 'Squishy'," the older brother commented, petting the side of the beast's head. He had met it once when he was six by accident playing with his father's old familiar cage. As it turned out, they were both big pushovers.

He thanked the furry monster for its strength silently. Like its owner, it had gotten older, but not any weaker, a fact he didn't take for granted. For one, he _did_ count himself lucky just then. If it weren't for the co-emperor's secret rounds, their lives would probably have been forfeit.

"Just what the hell did you think you were doing," the older man snapped, putting his hands on his hips. He shook his head, growling. "You know what- forget it. We'll talk about this when we get home." He looked at his familiar, empathizing internally how glad it was to see them safe. Instead, he harshly called out to it, "Squishy, let's go."

The beast's eyes opened and it swiftly turned to its owner. It grunted as he hoisted himself onto its back. They began to head towards the giant machine city.

"Umm… Brother…," Svin began, inching out from behind his taller sibling. "Why is father dressed like that…?"

Midero sighed and looked down. "Right, you don't know." He turned to face Svin. "It's something he does. He patrols the city dressed like that to keep a low profile."

Squishy stopped and the man riding it turned to look at the two teenagers. "Well? You lot coming," he wondered irritably. After all the trouble he went through to save them, he wasn't going to leave them out there defenseless.

The two looked at the emperor in disguise and then back at each other. They nodded, confirming each other's actions. They turned toward the other two and began to run after them.

~*~*~

A completely different man paced in front of them now. His hair was neatly combed and he wore a dark green cape with a magenta stripe lining the hem. His previous worn, filthy orange shirt had been replaced with a clean, neat red tunic. His pants even seemed well kept when compared to the tattered rags he wore earlier.

They stood in his room, not the throne room. It was large, larger than that room in fact. It was originally meant to be something else, but it was converted for his sake into the co-emperor's private chambers. It had a circular teal rug and they stood on in the center, Gascon being closest to the work desk behind him. The eldest son stood close to the bookshelf stuffed with blueprints and books while the youngest stood next to the coffee table in front of a magenta couch resembling the one in their uncle Marcassin's chambers.

"Really tell me, what was your plan," he asked incredulously, raising an eyebrow at the two reckless fools he called his sons. What were they thinking?! They could have been killed! Of all things, he certainly didn't want that on his conscience. It would have broken him in more ways than he could imagine to see them like that. It hurt just thinking about either of them _injured_.

"I- er…," Midero started to say. "Well, father… You see…" He couldn't find the words. Emperor Gascon could be unreasonably brash and stubborn at times. That frightened him. He hated confrontation. He idly fidgeted with his brown pants leg.

"I was going to hit it with a stick, see," Svin began to explain, holding an imaginary stick as if he were going to hit something with it. "I hoped with enough strength it would knock it out?"

Gascon stared at his youngest with widened disbelieving eyes. Had he raised an idiot? "So… you mean to tell me you thought a stick- a plain and simple stick- would be able to take down a giant boar…?" He felt the urge to laugh but held it back. "Pray tell, what was your back up plan if that didn't work, Svin," he breathed, rubbing his face with his hands and eventually running them through his hair.

"Midero would shoot it with his gun," the boy in question dryly answered. He looked at a now flustered and angry Midero and smirked at his older sibling.

He frowned, if not snarled at his younger brother. It was instances like those when the oldest looked almost exactly like the former emperor of Hamelin, Gascon often noticed. If only he had inherited his tenacity. This whole ordeal would have been put behind them before anyone got in any _real_ danger. "I told you to keep that a secret, didn't I?"

"Well, he was going to find out sooner or later, wasn't he? Are you always going to keep secrets like that," the younger bit back at him, glaring back at his older brother.

"Would you two just be quiet, already? I feel like I'm listening to an argument between me and myself, I swear," their father snapped, rubbing his temple with the heal of his palm. He glanced at Midero questioningly. "Where and how did you get a gun, Midero?"

"I found it. In here in your room, father. I was looking for ideas for a new invention and-," the oldest began to explain.

"Wait, wait, wait… You mean to tell me you took one of _my_ guns," the emperor asked, pressing a hand to his chest. "Why would you do that…? Do you even know how to use it? Its purpose?"

Midero looked down and shook his head. "It doesn't work sometimes… I tried fixing it, but…"

 _"Fixing it?!"_ He stomped up to the brute of a teen. If he were anyone else he would have been intimidated by the height of the boy. He knew his son- he wouldn't hurt a fly. "Whoever said it was broken," he snapped, looking him dead in the eye. "Hand it over," he demanded, holding out his hand.

When he saw which one of the guns his eldest had managed to pilfer, he started to laugh. He held the gun up in the light of the room, examining it. "So, this is the gun. The Pickpocket's Pistol… That brings back memories, I tell you," he said with a grin. He looked up at Midero and handed him back the gun. "It's not broken at all, you're just not using it right," he admitted.

"It- It isn't," he responded, shocked at his father's sudden change of attitude. "Don't you want it back, father?"

The emperor shook his head, smiling fondly at old memories. "No, no... I actually did debate on showing you how to use one for your own good. It's the kind of heirloom that's better off used rather than left sitting in a drawer or on a shelf." He smirked, looking down at the old gadget. "You seemed to have improved its firepower. I'd say you're fit for it." He slapped a hand on his shoulder and shook him gently. "I'll show you its other features another time."

He heaved a sigh as he recalled the initial reason why they were there. He removed his hand and glared at the younger brother. "I've seemed to have gotten sidetracked," he fiercely reminded them before turning and walking to his original place in the room- in front of his work desk.

"What was the point of all this, anyhow," he interrogated, still confused by their sudden whim to throw themselves into unnecessary danger. "Why didn't you stop him, Midero?"

"I- I tried…," Midero answered, looking down shamefully. "He wouldn't listen to reason."

Gascon sighed, staring up at his son. "You're going to have to be stronger than this when it's your time to take the throne, Midero," he informed quietly. He dared not turn it into a yelling match- it always caused the older youth to shut down.

"And how can he, eh? How do you expect us to be strong when we can't take on anything? When we all we have are royal tutors and- and fancy dance lessons," Svin snapped as he hastily approached his father.

He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at the youngest. "You haven't been paying attention, have you, son? How many times have I told you- if you want it, you've got to go for it yourself. Do things your own way." He threw his hands out to the side, scoffing at the boy. "I expect you to find a way, but that doesn't mean getting yourselves _killed_."

"Doesn't it take that sometimes? Shouldn't we face large obstacles to get stronger? Why do you think I wanted to take on that boar, huh," Svin cried, gesturing to himself. "I can't protect anyone looking like this. I need to be more like Midero- big and strong… I feel like our bodies don't line up with our personalities, father! How am I supposed to do anything when I'm a scrawny little twat?!"

The emperor was silent for a moment as he studied his son. He recalled what he wanted to be- a guard. Even Hamelin's finest palace guards were as thin as he was. Gascon closed his eyes and sighed. "You think it's just about size and strength, do you," he questioned lowly. He took off the cape, revealing the reality of his own size. He wasn't exactly skin and bones, but he wasn't muscle-bound, either. "Take a good look. What do you see, Svin."

Svin blinked, confused. He knew what he looked like without the cape. Just what was he getting at? Then he remembered his history. He remembered the stories that he had been told as he went to sleep as a kid. Stories of his father's travels all over the world, facing many, _many_ , enemies. And he had survived them all- even if he wasn't alone through most of them. He didn't look like some muscle-bound hero, though. He was a man of average stature, of average height- his life halfway over. "You're thin… You're not like Midero…," he realized.

"Exactly." He smirked. "You'll never be your brother, and that's okay, Svin," he comforted, running a hand through Svin's hair. "You're nothing alike, you two. You should be proud of what makes you different because that's what makes you strong." He softly smiled at the boy in front of him who the servants lovingly called his twin. "You're stubborn and brave…" Gascon glanced at the older teenager who slowly looked up at them. "He's kindhearted and inventive."

He looked at the two of them. "To be strong means more than physical strength… It means doing what you can only do and do it well," he lectured enthusiastically, removing his hand from Svin's hair and clenching it into a fist in front of him. "It means having the heart to look out for each other. To be there when your brother-," he stopped and looked more at his oldest son. "Or your _people_ need you." He tilted his head at an unsure Midero as he put his hand down. "You can do that, can't you?"

Midero put his hand to his chin in thought, taking in his father's words. He looked up and nodded, smiling at the emperor. "I think I have what it takes. Thank you, father."

Gascon grinned, proud to hear his son's confidence. He was proud of both of them, no matter what. He just wished they didn't have to be in such a rush to grow up- especially the youngest one. "Promise you both won't try to do something so stupid again, will you?"

Svin chuckled lightheartedly and beamed up at his father. "I make no promises!" He was yanked into a hold with a playful, "Come here," from the man in front of him.

The bear of a brother walked toward them and smiled at the two. "I'll try to yank him out of danger if he does," he vowed. He found himself being pulled into a group hug by the emperor.

"You both drive me insane, you know," Gascon joked, laughing. He held them tighter, closer to him. They're okay… That's all that matters, he thought, closing his eyes. I hope they have nothing to fear in their future. My boys…

**Author's Note:**

> End of the drabble, it seems. I kind of thought at first that maybe Swaine would be a lone wolf after the end of the game but you can see how long that train of thought lasted. Let's just say it's in a ditch along with a lot of other things… in tiny pieces.
> 
> I hope this wasn't too OOC on Swaine's end… Then again, he does seem like the kind of hard on the outside but soft on the inside kind of guy by even the game's standards. I don't know…
> 
> Quick trivia: Svin's name is literally translated to "pig" in Danish and Midero's name is a play on the island Mindoro. There's a specific breed of pig known to live there.
> 
> In any case, do review if you wish. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and critiques.


End file.
